"J. Edgar" Trailer

Today we get our first real look at Clint Eastwood's "J. Edgar."  While Eastwood has not had a film in serious competition since "Letters From Iwo Jima," never underestimate him.  That's how so many people lost money the year "The Aviator" was supposed to sweep the Oscars and give Marty his much coveted Oscar.  This film is an Eastwood film, and he's directed two Best Picture winners.  It stars Leonardo DiCaprio, who routinely shows up in the Best Actor category.  It has a screenplay by Dustin Lance Black, who won an Oscar just a couple of years ago for "Milk."  Finally, it's a biopic about a VERY controversial figure!  Yeah, we haven't seen it yet, but it might be best to consider it a contender.

Best Picture Prediction Count

I've got more articles to write (one that Harry Potter fans might be upset with me once written), but for statistics sake, here's where my personal Oscar count would be fore my (current) five Best Picture nominees:

• Drive: 8 nominations
• Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - Part II: 11 nominations
• The Help: 4 nominations
• Midnight In Paris: 3 nominations
• The Tree of Life: 6 nominations

Again, these are just predictions, and just because I would nominate one film with more than double the nominations than other films, that does not make that film the best film of the year.  It only means I think there are more individual aspects of that film that are worth nominating that the others don't have ("Midnight In Paris" is one of the best films of the year DESPITE not being a very flashy film).

State of the Race: Best Picture Midyear

I was supposed to do this in the middle of the year, but there were so few contenders in the race I delayed it a bit. Now more films have come out, so lets look at how the Best Picture race is shaping up.

Film: Drive
Going For It: Film opened to rave reviews. Audiences love it! Critics are getting giddy! Released late enough in the year that voters can remember it. Ryan Gosling is a favorite to win Best Actor.
Going Against It: Film is dark. So far the opening box office has been soft at best. Might not have staying power.
Chances of Getting Nominated: Right now it's looking good, but we'll have to see if it keeps its traction against new contenders as they come out.

Film: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part II
Going For It: Final installment of long running series. Most successful movie of the year. Critics love it and audiences...well, you know how audiences responded to it. Had a great opening week to almost half a billion dollars...
Going Against It: ...and then dropped like a brick the following week. Fantasy movies don't do well with the Academy. Harry Potter has yet to win any Oscars...PERIOD! The high praise was fleeting at best.
Chances of Getting Nominated: Sorry Potter fans, but I think this ones out.

Film: The Help
Going For It: Strong word-of-mouth. Surprise hit of the year. Cast features mostly women and practically everyone is going to see it.
Going Against It: Cast features mostly women (men outnumber women in the Academy). There's concerns about how race and relations are portrayed.
Chances of Getting Nominated: I'll be surprised if this one isn't in.

Film: Midnight In Paris
Going For It: Smart script. Weird premise that works. Woody Allen usually gets at least a screenplay nomination.
Going Against It: Movie might be too lighthearted. Allen is still a somewhat controversial figure in the movie world.
Chances of Getting Nominated: Eh...bit of a toss up at the moment.

Film: The Tree of Life
Going For It: Extremely artsy. Critics love it. Terrence Malick alone carries a lot of respect with the Academy members. Won the Palm d'Or for Best Picture at the Cannes Film Festival.
Going Against It: Audiences hate it. Most people don't get it. About as non-traditional an Oscar movie as you get.
Chances of Getting Nominated: Very little...much as I hate to admit it.

Ryan Gosling To “Drive” To Oscar

Well folks, there's another movie to keep an eye on: “Drive.” This action film has opened soft at the box office (a little over $4 million on the opening day), but the rave reviews are piling up. It appears to be a “love or hate it” film, but so far more people seem to love it than hate it. It's not even polarizing female audiences, which is amazing since “Drive” is being advertised as a more mature version of “The Fast & The Furious” (though I still conclude that “Fast Five” was the most pleasant surprise for me this year). The general praise from all the reviews Rotten Tomatoes picked up on is “a hyper-stylized blend of striking imagery and violence, Drive represents a fully realized vision of arthouse action.”

So what we have is a summer movie that was so artsy, that the studios decided to release it later in the year to capitalize more on the awards than the summer crowds. Did the studio do this because they trusted the more serious movie fans to carry this better than the teenage summer crowd that normally abandons movies after their opening weekend? Who knows. Aside from people commenting on how artful the film is though, the main praise is going to Ryan Gosling. His performance is considered the driving force behind this movie (no pun intended...if you want to believe me), and though he's young, there are few major performances so far this year that are challenging it. So far his biggest competition is George Clooney (ironically, his co-star of the upcoming “The Idles of March”) in “The Descendants,” Jean Dujardin in “The Artist,” and Michael Fassbender in “Shame.”

So what chance does he stand of winning? So far...hard to say, the movies listed above have yet to be seen by the audiences, so its hard to decide how this will swing. Here's a few things to consider though. First of all, George Clooney is clearly the biggest threat because his film HAS been seen by a good chunk of critics, and the buzz is already building! That said, he's won an Oscar, and that (sadly) sometimes counts against you). Jean Dujardin is riding high on the praise of “The Artist,” but he's largely an unknown, and that could hurt him. Michael Fassbender is known to audiences as Magneto from “X-Men: First Class,” but his role in “Shame” is that of a sex addict, which might be a rather challenging film for members of the Academy to go for.

One thing seems certain though: Gosling is in for a Best Actor nomination. Maybe more performances will come along, but this seems like a safe bet. “Drive” also seems to be in a good position for supporting nods, art direction nods, and even a Best Picture nod doesn't seem out of the question at this point. It will all come down to a couple big things: Whether the Academy and audiences embrace the film, and whether or not they “like” it enough to give it the nominations.

Are The Oscars Stone Cold Deaf? #2: 1985

elcome to the feature on this blog I like to call "Are The Oscars Stone Cold Deaf?" This is a feature that is dedicated to one of the most highly publicized awards in the Oscar season that is (for some reason) still underrated. This may have more to do with the fact that the Best Song category is the reason we still have dance numbers in the Oscar telecast (and people hate those dance numbers), but it doesn't change the fact that there are many great songs that get nominated for Best Song that never win. Sometimes the winners are either of lesser quality, not nearly as good, or so inferior to a fellow nominee that you just have wonder if the Oscars are just stone cold deaf. For our second installment we're going to look at the year 1985 (again, where the winner was not a total loss). Here's what won:

Now I love Lionel Richie as much as the next guy, but good as that song is its sort of a lightweight to honor it with a "Best Song" Oscar.  Another song that would have been a slightly better choice is this one...

...which ironically comes from the same movie.  "White Nights."  Now these are both good songs.  I'm not disputing that.  However, there was a song nominated here that was so catchy, so memorable, that it took the world by storm and hasn't left since.  And that is...

..."The Power of Love" by Huey Lewis and the News.  From the classic film "Back To The Future," this is what good memorable music is.  It's become not only an iconic movie song, but an iconic song in general that is still played on the radio as if it were brand new to this very day.  In this case, I think Oscar really blew it.

Viola Davis's Oscar Campaign Needs 'Help'

This week "The Help" crossed the $100 million dollar mark.  It shows once again that making smart films for older women is an untapped market that Hollywood needs to stop ignoring.  It's avoided a lot of controversy on the basis that people of different ages, colors, and genders love it.  It makes you feel good, but it doesn't sugarcoat things.  All these reasons make it one to watch for Best Picture, and few will argue that.  However, there IS an argument that is circling the web: Viola Davis's performance!  Many people agree that it is an Oscar worthy performance and worthy of a nomination.  The debate is this: Will be be nominated in the lead category or the supporting category?  I find this to be a stupid question to ask, but one that is being asked none-the-less.

Davis's character narrates the film.  The film opens with her.  It closes with her.  She is instrumental to getting Skeeters (Emma Stones character) book project off the ground.  She tells the most personal stories in the film.  In my mind there is no question: She is the lead performance in this film.  You can't even describe the film without mentioning her.  Yet the debate is that she might get put in the supporting category because its easier to win there.  That may be a good publicist move, but in my eyes its a huge disservice to what this film is trying to say.  I'm wondering if the irony of this debate has registered with anyone but me, but am I the only one who finds it odd that we're considering putting Davis in the supporting category when the film really is about her?  Isn't this the kind of lower class profiling that the film fights so hard against?

This whole movie is about black women making their voice heard in a world that is unwilling to listen to them.  That a white woman helps get their voice out does not take away from the fact that its their stories that are being told.  In a sense, that makes this movie their movie as well.  I don't mind Octavia Spencer getting all the buzz for being a potential nominee for Best Supporting Actress.  She deserves all the praise she's getting, but her part is much smaller compared to other characters in this film.  Davis though...without her character there is no movie.  Period.  It's really about her in every single way.  How society dictated what she does with her life.  The dilemma that she spends more time raising white kids then her own son.

That being a maid is not what she wants to do, but its the only thing she CAN do at this point!  It's her journey we sympathis most with.  If Davis does get an Oscar nomination she will have deserved it.  If she wins it will be because she gave the best performance of the year.  If it's in the supporting category though I think it will be a sad commentary on how much society REALLY views black women these days!

Patriotism Never Sounded So Catchy

For those who are feeling particularly patriotic this morning, take a listen to "Star Spangled Man," a catchy Broadway-style tune by Alan Silvestri (the Oscar-nominated composer who wrote the "Back To The Future" theme) for the new film "Captain America: The First Avenger."  And yes, I would SO love to see this nominated for Best Song and performed with lots of flamboyant glee at the Oscar telecast next year!

Memo To The Academy: Honor the Voice Actors

Alright Academy: It's time to get over your old fashioned beliefs about animation and create a category for honoring voice over work.  I think it became painfully obvious after "Rango" was released that voice acting is crucial to these animated movies.  More than ever before, big established actors are giving out Oscar worthy performances in voice over work.  Yet none of it is being recognized, and the Academy is too busy deciding whether five movies are enough or not in the Best Picture category, and are thus overlooking awards that would obviously be good for the show.  Think about it: If you start awarding Oscars to voice actors it gives you a chance to have a whole new branch in the Academy to sell memberships to.

You can attract lots of big name talent who might make poor live action films, but in animation shine.  You could attract kids to watching the Oscars because animation will now have a very prominent role at the awards.  And - because many voice actors are also face actors in real life - you honor more actors, which are the main reason anyone not as interested in movies watch the Oscars anymore (Editor's Note: The hosts haven't been a major draw for this show in YEARS).  I'm going to make a list of what a potential award category would look like, complete with nominees.


Best Actor In An Animated Feature

Antonio Banderas - "Puss In Boots" (I'm making an educated guess on this one based on his previous work)
Jack Black - "Kung Fu Panda 2"
Jim Cummings - "Winnie The Pooh"
Johnny Depp - "Rango"
Jesse Eisenberg - "Rio"


Best Actress In An Animated Feature

Emily Blunt - "Gnomeo & Juliet"
Isla Fisher - "Rango"
Anne Hathawy - "Rio"
Salma Hayek - "Puss In Boots" (Again, this one's a guess)
Angelina Jolie - "Kung Fu Panda 2"


Best Actor Featured In An Animated Feature

Ned Beatty - "Rango"
Michael Caine - "Cars 2"
Dustin Hoffman - "Kung Fu Panda 2"
Tom Kenny - "Winnie The Pooh"
Gary Oldman - "Kung Fu Panda 2"


Best Actress Featured In An Animated Feature

Abigal Breslin - "Rango"
Joan Cusak - "Mars Needs Moms"
Leslie Mann - "Rio"
Emily Mortimer - "Cars 2"
Michelle Yeoh - "Kung Fu Panda 2"




Now some of those names I'm just tossing out there because we haven't seen ALL the animated films that are supposed to come out, but take a moment and look at that list!  That's not only good acting, it's a considerable amount of talent you're drawing.  You can't tell me this category wouldn't catch on when you have nominees like that?  Who knows, maybe you could give some of the "de faco" awards to actors who get nominated in the voiceover category, instead of wasting it on the main acting awards (*cough* Paul Newman's Best Actor win for "The Color of Money"*cough*).  Just a thought.

Best Song Frontrunner

Disney's "Winnie The Pooh" is currently out in theaters.  Chances are you haven't seen it (it DID open opposite of "Harry Potter and the Death;y Hallows Part II" after all).  Well, I did, and though it's not the best animated film I've seen, I wouldn't be too surprised to see it win Best Animated Feature.  It's not complicated but it's so charming and sweat that it's hard not to leave with a big smile on your face, which could go a long way with the increasingly aging Academy members.  One aspect I did like though was the music, which was written but Kristen and Robert Lopez (who was one of the co-writers of the "Avenue Q" score if you can believe it).  I don't know if this song is going to be groundbreaking, but it's fun and catchy enough that I think it would be a lot of fun to see this nominated for Best Song.

Back In Game: The State of the Race

Well, more than a year after I stopped updating this blog I thought I would never return to it. To be honest, I almost deleted this blog because I felt it was just taking up space.  Well, a recent book project I'm working on (which I'll discuss more about in a few days) sort of jolted me back to this blog, and I realized that this blog still may have some usefulness to it.  So how do I make my grand return?  Why, but discussing the state of the race.  And there are three films I want to focus on.  The first two are the closest things to locks on a Best Picture nomination, with a third that sounds like a sure thing on paper (but a long shot in practice).  The first is Terrence Malick's very polarizing "The Tree of Life."  Though praised by many (including myself) as a masterpiece that must been seen to be believed, it never-the-less has not caught on with the public.

They don't get it.  They wonder what the point of it is.  The non-linear structure confuses them.  I think most people go in expecting a story and don't realize that "The Tree of Life" is a movie more about ideas than what happens to the characters on screen.  I know that sounds strange, but that's pretty much what it is.  Despite it clearly being the best film of the year so far, this is the same Academy who awarded "The King's Speech" (a good movie by the way) a Best Picture nomination over the more ambitious "The Social Network."  Why?  Hard to tell, but there was a lot of talk that most members of the Academy didn't even know what Facebook was.  If THAT was a problem, I see "The Tree of Life" having a much steeper climb!  The other movie that seems like a good bet right now is Woody Allen's "Midnight In Paris."  Ironically, this is the polar opposite of "The Tree of Life."

This is a movie that is story driven, has well defined characters, and have a journey and destination in mind.  That fact that it's popular AND smart makes this a good bet even if the coming months should bring us more ambitious films!  Part me is still a little cynical of the idea that the Academy would nominate this for Best Picture when they couldn't bring themselves to nominate "Match Point" for anything other than it's screenplay, but with the Best Picture number that could be anywhere between five to ten films...well, anythings possible.  And then we have...

..."Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part II."  None of the Harry Potter films have won Best Picture.  None of the Harry Potter films have won any Oscars.  Most of the movies are critically mixed.  But "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part II" could change all that.  It's opened to the best reviews of the franchise.  It's got some of the best reviews of the year.  They match up (if not pass) the previous ten years Best Picture winners.  Not to mention audiences around the world are eating it up to the point where it could potentially make more money than "The Dark Knight" and "Avatar."  If this was any other movie, it would be automatically considered a strong Best Picture nominee (if not winner).  Since it's Harry Potter though, we're just going to have to wait and see if the Academy follows the audiences cheers.

With so little competition nobody knows anything yet.  Well, actually, I do know one thing: For the first time I can think of, Pixar has absolutely no chance of being nominated in Best Animated Feature.  That may make that race at least a little more interesting.

Sequel To 'The Dark Knight' Officially Announced

From Box Office Mojo comes the announcement that will set the geek world aflame (and on Free Comic Book Day too):

In one of the most anticipated announcements in recent memory, Warner Bros. officially set a date this morning for the follow-up to The Dark Knight. Tentatively known as Batman 3, the movie will debut July 20, 2012 in conventional and IMAX theaters, almost exactly four years after The Dark Knight opened to record-breaking numbers.

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'8: The Mormon Proposition' Trailer

Not sure what I feel about this one.  I'll certainly disagree with some of the viewpoints this filmmaker is so obviously trying to make, but with such a touchy subject it might be hard for Oscar to pass this up come voting time.  Another early contender for Best Documentary I'd say.

Ask The Movie Wizard A Question

Hey guys, I'm trying to make this site more interactive.  Which is why I'm going to have a new weekly Q&A column for this site.  If you have a question you'd like to ask me go ahead and ask away.  The best questions will be posted on this site (so you may want to include your name and website if you want some recognition).  The widget is below but also on the right bar.  I look forward to hearing the questions.

"Kick-Ass" Review

Can an entertaining movie be made that is laced with corse profanity, brutal violence, and comical situations that in real life aren’t funny? Of course they can, only a conservative parent who grades movies on the content scale over the artistic scale would tell you otherwise. If I just described you then you can stop reading this review now, as “Kick-Ass” was not made with you in mind. Based on the comic book of the same name the story revolves around a young teen named Dave (Aaron Johnson) whose only talent involves simply existing in the world as we know it. Unpopular with girls and with no remarkable talents, he never-the-less has a heart for helping people and wonders why more people don’t do so.

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"How To Train Your Dragon" Review

After years of living in Pixar’s shadow Dreamworks Animation has finally delivered a film that rival’s the animation king of CGI films. “How To Train Your Dragon” tells the simple story of a young Viking named Hiccup (Jay Baruchel) who is considered weak by the rest of the Vikings for being unable to hold his own in a fight with dragons who destroy their town on a weekly basis (the town is old but the houses are new). His dad is the leader of the Vikings named Stoick (Gerard Butler) who - like most fathers in animated films - considers his son to be awkward and a bit of a disappointment. No, he’s not odd in that he’s gay, because he has a crush on the feisty Viking girl Astrid (America Ferrera), but odd because he has no violent traits.

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"Greenberg" Review

If you’ve been reading my reviews for awhile you’ll know that I’m not Ben Stiller’s biggest fan. I feel he’s a one trick pony that plays one pathetic wimp after another. In some ways “Greenberg” is not much different from previous characters Stiller has played, and in some ways this is about as far from those previous characters as you can get. The movie stars stiller as Robert Greenberg, a man who has recently been released from a mental institution. At the age of 50 Greenberg is stuck in life. At one point the lead singer of a rock band that almost got signed to a record deal, he walked away from that dream and destroyed not only his life but the lives of his band mates and friends.

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"The Ghost Writer" Review

“The Ghost Writer” is the latest film from Academy Award-winning director Roman Polanski. It may possibly also be his last film depending on whether or not he is successfully extradited from a 32-year old crime and scandal he’s been involved with. Indeed, his scandal seems to go on almost as long as the scandal Adam Lang (Pierce Bronson) has going for him in this film. Though the focus of the movie is on the dirty politician (possibly inspired by Tony Blaire), the protagonist of the film is on the ghost writer who has been hired to clean up the manuscript of Adam’s memoir’s. The ghost writer is never named but simply referred to as Ghost throughout the film, and is played with surprising conviction by Ewan McGregor.

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"Waking Sleeping Beauty" Trailer

Here's the trailer for "Waking Sleeping Beauty."  My review is below. Hope it comes to your area so you can enjoy this yourselves.

"Waking Sleeping Beauty" Review

One of the great things about “Waking Sleeping Beauty” is that it gives you reasons to both root and condemn the studio it’s about. Rarely will you see a documentary that is more insightful then political, but it just goes to prove that insightful documentaries are always going to be better then political ones. The movie was directed by Don Hahn, producer to some of Disney’s biggest hits including “Beauty & The Beast,” which for the longest time was the only animated film to be nominated for Best Picture (until Pixar’s “Up” came along). Hahn took a break from the studio so that he could work on other projects, and this is the first time we’ve seen him in the directors chair. Turns out he can direct a pretty effective documentary.

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"The Secret of Kells" Review

Chances are if you were watching this years Academy Awards when the Best Animated Feature category came up you - like the rest of the world - were completely unsurprised that Pixar’s “Up” walked away with the statue. However like the rest of the world you were likely confused when the category nominated a film called “The Secret of Kells,” a film virtually no one had heard of. I’ll admit if I wasn’t as deep into the movie industry as I am I probably wouldn’t have heard of it either. That said while I heard of it I still didn’t know what it was about or where it really came from. Turns out it was a co production between France, Ireland, and Belgium, though it was recorded in English in preparation for an American release.

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